Music to His Ears

When his grandparents brought a very young Benjamin Stalder to Mass at Saint John Capistran Church, Upper Saint Clair, he asked to sit right behind the organ.

Always captivated by the combination of faith and music, he was born with rare talent. He grew up in Wexford, where his parents, Matt and Sharon Stalder, encouraged his musical gifts and his faith. A musically-inclined uncle gave him a guitar at age 5, and he played by ear before taking lessons. His maternal grandfather, a jazz pianist who could play by ear, also encouraged him. He passed away when Benjamin was a small child, leaving him with an urge to play piano. “It was almost like he was passing the torch to me,” Benjamin said.

Read the full article (page 22): https://catholicmagazines.org/magazine-archive/pittsburgh-catholic/pit0625